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I have been offered a W Reg (2000) Rover 75 Classic CDT SE (BMW engine) by a friend for £4k. It has only done 46k miles and has a FSH. I have driven the car and it is in excellent condition - spotless inside and almost as good outside. I like the car a lot - it seems like a lot of car for not a lot of money - good fuel consumption to boot. My only concern is, you've guessed, about the future availability of spares although I understand reliability should not be an issue. Advice gratefully received - should I buy it?
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it seems like a lot of car for not a lot of money
Comparing some of the cars on the autotrader site (link on the left), £4k sounds at least £500 too much for a private sale to me. A few of the garage sales are going for cheaper than £4k.
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Then again, they mostly have a lot more miles on the clock.
How well do you know the person selling the car?
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Thanks for replying. I know the seller very well (have done for 25 years)and I have seen all the paperwork. Iwill have a good look through Autotrader though but I,m not sure I will see much with so littlemiles on the clock.
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I forgot to mention that I paid for a Glass's valuation £3800 trade-in value (car in good condition) and £5k for a forecourt purchase. Seemed a bit high to me.
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Ignoring the question of £4k is market value or not, how long do you plan to keep it. If it's 3 years then depreciation will be £1,333pa assuming it will be worth zero at the end of that.
Since annual depreciation of £3,000 plus is the norm for new cars costing £20,000 or so, my financial view would be it's worth buying and maintaining. If after 3 years you have expensive repairs to come, sell it on ebay or Autotrader (you should get a minimum of £1,000) and buy something else.
But don't fall in love with it: the spares position will inevitably deteriorate with time as will the specialised dealer knowledge..
Of course I assume it is immaculate in every way. If not, buy another.
madf
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Spares should be less of a problem with the diesel than petrols as is BMW unit still being used in 3 series. Lots of suspension and brake parts are also shared with the 3 and 5 series so will probably be ok - just make sure you dont bang it and need a new bumper!
Reliability wise, my CDT has now done 215,000 miles and is of same vintage of the one your looking at. Currenly on list of gone wrongs is starter motor, new radiator, front ball joints and exhaust - not bad for fast approaching qtr million miles.
Religiously change the oil every 5000 miles to keep the chain going a bit longer (far too expensive to change!) and have it serviced independantly and will cost you very little to run.
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There are some 75s on Autotrader that are listed at ridiculoulsly high prices. If I was looking for an auto diesel, I could be tempted, but not at the prices some dealers are asking.
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I personally think the spares issue is a red herring. There are plenty of Rovers about, which will create a market for spares, leading to spares being available. After all you can still readily get spares for any popular make of car even if it is no longer in production.
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Hmm. Experience in other threads from Backroomers seems to suggest otherwise. Buyer beware.
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Surely if they are re-manufacturing the 75 and 25 in china, both of these cars are worth purchasing as future panel parts will come available.
knowing the chinese - v.little of the panels and styling will change especially on the 75.
only thing is - the bumpers available for the pre-facelift 25 and 75, lights and other noticable changes will be not be available. panel parts shouldnt be an issue.
thats if they re-manufacture the cars!
and no body knows what they have planned.
surely the 45 is the one to avoid - smallest quantity and little hope of re-production.
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For me these cars need to be seriously cheap for me to take the risk.
OK you MAY be alright on the parts front or you may not.
There is one firm that holds a lot of Rover parts and the rights to manufacture them. They will decide what they want to manufacture and when. Its not up to you.
The Chinese MAY manufacture unaltered 75's or they may not. The parts if made MAY filter back to UK or they may not.
When the UK is awash with thousands of cheap used cars why take the risk?
£3,000 makes this car a bargain. £3,500 is fairish. £4,000 is too much. IF I wanted such a car I would pay no more than £3,000. As its a friend you may not want to play so hard.
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Brand new ones in the DT this last weekend at £8995 makes makes £4000 for W expensive.
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2000W Rover 75 Classic SE Auto with 83,000 went for £2,850 on Ebay yesterday.
tinyurl.com/bpz5r
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I didn't realise you can make your feedback private. Maybe his recent feedbacks explain why the Rover seller decided to do so -
4 negative out of 8 in last month
6 out of 17 in past 6 months
7 out of 111 in past year
The car looks cheap though...
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A colleague in work has just sold her Silver Rover 75 Club SE 18 months old and 12000 miles to another colleague for £4900. The car is kept very very clean. She was offered £4600 as a trade in against a new Jaguar X type by a large dealership in Belfast. She bought the car new and I hate to think what she has lost in depreciation.
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